i changed the fluid and filter on oct. 11 and i am driving 1600 miles on oct 17. problem is after reading i got mixed up somehow and put t-iv instead of ws in the tranny . did an 80 mile round trip on the 13th with no issues. change it back now or wait till i get to my destination ( the car will be staying there ) any valid opinions quickly please. thanx.

 

Correct me if im wrong, but doesnt the auto tc tranny only accept t-iv fluid? thats always what ive used, and what ive been told to use.

 

well i used to own a 2005 tc when they first got into the northeast. from what i found out 05-06 took the t-iv. 07 switched to the ws type. so i need a response from anybody who has run into this. i don't really want to do it now on short notice but if have to then i will. it is in the manual and on the stick.

 

Change it, better to be safe then sorry, it might suck now, but replacing a bad tranny will suck even more, don't you think?

 

UPDATE!! go to google and you look at the car reviews for the scion tc and each one says it has an optional 4 speed auto transmission. go to the scion website,look under specs, and it also says it is an optional 4 speed auto. look into this forum and google and a toyota tsb i found and it is said 5 speed auto takes type ws while 4 speed auto uses type t-iv. but yet my dipstick is clearly marked ws, in the dealers manual it is marked ws. so do we have 4 speed or 5 speed auto trannys? there may be a bigger issue here. can anybody clarify?

 

It's not a problem on which tranny fluid you used. If you did a complete flush, you can put whatever tranny fluid you want. The problem is mixing the different formula of tranny fluid together. But for best performance stick with whatever Toyota said on the dipstick or in the owners manual.

All tc has 4 speed auto. The 5 speed auto applies to the Camry, 09+ XRS models, Rav4 with the 2az below '09 models.

 

yeah, no such thing as a 5 spd automatic for the scion tc. also, why would you offer an optional 4spd automatic when you have a 5 spd automatic? imagine that marketing for that, want worst gas mileage and slower acceleration? get the 4 speed automatic!

the 4 speed automatic is optional in the sense that the 5 spd manual is standard, or you can have an automatic if operating a manual is too challenging for you.

 

exactly. no such thing as a 5 speed auto for the tc. toyota does make a 5 speed auto. the point is the ws tranny fluid is supposed to be for the new five speeds, not the four. i saw this in writing direct from toyota. four speeds are to use t-iv.

 

Do not put whatever type of fluid you want in there. It can cause shifting problems and WILL void your warranty.

Manual trans - drain and fill ( GL-5)
autos 2005-06 type IV (we flush at 30K)
autos 2007-09 WS No flush. check at 100,000 miles.

I advise you to flush out the type IV. Put back world standard. A drain and fill will not get out wrong fluid.

 

anybody know what change was made to the tranny for the 07 that they are using ws type fluid? you would assume it is the same tranny since 2005.

 

I'd really like to know the same thing. I strongly suspect that the only change to the U241E was switching from T-IV to WS fluid. Much like the 2AZ-FE was unchanged when Toyo switched from 5w30 to 0w20 motor oil for better fuel economy.

The major difference between T-IV and WS is viscosity. WS is lower viscosity synthetic fluid intended to improve fuel economy, cold fluid shifting and extend change intervals. WS appears to be a more robust ATF than T-IV but I'd like to change from WS to to a T-IV viscosity synthetic like Mobil One syn, Redline D4 or Amsoil syn. I'm more concerned with shift firmness and reduced clutch pack and TC slippage than fuel economy.

It would be great to hear from people who have changed from WS to a 'normal' viscosity ATF. The expected result should be firmer shifts, less slippage and lower oil temps but there's nothing like first-hand experience to confirm this.

EDIT: I just spoke with IPT on the phone and they stated that they commonly substitute Amsoil syn ATF for Toyo WS with no ill effects. IPT's opinion is that the lower viscosity of WS is strictly for better fuel economy. If this is indeed the case, switching from WS to normal viscosity syn ATF should provide the benefits stated above.

 

Also worth noting is that WS uses better base oil (possibly syn) and additives than T-IV. If you intend to switch from WS you should go with Amsoil LV or Redline D6 if you want to stay with low viscosity oil. If you want to use normal viscosity, you can use Amsoil, D4, M1 or Eneos (possibly others).